The Intimacy Acceleration
"The Intimacy Acceleration" is the sixteenth episode of the eighth season of the American sitcom The Big Bang Theory. The episode aired Thursday, February 26, 2015. Summary Penny and Sheldon conduct an experiment designed to make people instantly fall in love. Leonard, Amy, Raj and Emily visit an escape room, where they have to find an exit while being menaced by a zombie. Howard and Bernadette lose the cremation|ashes of Howard's mother after they return from her funeral/cremation. Extended Plot At dinner, Amy mentions that she read a magazine article about how intimacy can be created between two people in an accelerated time frame. Sheldon considers dragging random people off the street to try it, but the others suggest he try the experiment on himself. Penny doesn't believe that Sheldon would answer intimate questions about himself and begs to be involved, assuring him that she won't fall in love with him. Heading into Penny's apartment, Sheldon tells Penny that if they fall in love she must drive him to GaryCon (Dungeons and Dragons). Penny agrees and tells him she'll even throw in a tee-shirt. Raj thinks that Amy and Leonard are being calm about Penny and Sheldon possibly falling in love. He does not like to tempt fate. The other halves are not worried and decide to perform the experiment themselves. Question 1: "Given the choice of anyone in the world, who would you like to have dinner with?" Leonard says Penny. Amy replies that she'd pick the janitor because she's about to throw up. They quit. Raj suggests that they do something with Emily. Howard and Bernadette are still traveling back from his mother's funeral in Florida. Raj says that Howard was taking it pretty well. Switch to the airport arrivals area and Howard is screaming at the clerk behind the desk who claims that the airline has lost the suitcase that contains his mother's cremation|ashes (urn) and he demands them back. He wants to know where she misplaced the only woman who ever loved him. Bernadette looks at him and he changes it to the first woman who ever loved him. Starting the experiment, Penny asks Sheldon if he doesn't want wine. Sheldon doesn't want to drink when operating heavy machinery meaning his brain. The dinner hospitality|guest question is first. Sheldon first mentions Euclid, the geometry founder, though he wears sandals and Sheldon can't eat dinner while looking at somebody's toes. Then he chooses himself, his own hero. Penny chooses Robert Downey Jr.|Robert Downey, Junior a.k.a Iron Man. Sheldon then says he would like to join them for dessert. Raj picks up Emily. Amy tells them to choose the evening's activity since she and Leonard are tagging along. Emily suggests the group visit an escape rooom where you have to solve puzzles to get out of a room which includes being Lock (security device) |locked in with a zombie. Raj mentions that is similar to what Penny is doing with Sheldon. Sheldon poses the next question to Penny which is to describe her perfect day. Penny replies that it would be sleep-in, yoga, beach, massage, Alcoholic beverage|drinks and dancing. Sheldon notes that she didn't mention Leonard and that he wouldn't enjoy any of that. Penny snaps that he was there and he brought a book. Sheldon's perfect day would start with French toast and then he would travel to the future through a wormhole where his towering intellect is used to save the last remnants of humankind from a predatory alien race. Penny points out that he also didn't mention Amy. Sheldon says she made the French toast. The guys are escorted into a room which contains remnants of the laboratory of the late Dr. David Saltzburg who experimented on slowing the aging process. He died in a laboratory accident... or did he? Leonard lets the ladies go first and Emily wonders if he is being politeness|polite or horror|scared. Leonard agrees. Inside is a huge lab and the door is locked. As they start to look for clues, out bursts a chained-up zombie which scares them. Emily is having a great time. The airline employee tells Howard that his bag did arrive at the airport. Unfortunately, maybe someone could have accidentally picked it up. Howard sarcastically concludes that his mother could be anywhere in Los Angeles. The worst news is that this person could have gotten on an international flight. Howard again yells at her that her job is to find lost luggage and she has narrowed it down to the planet earth, She bursts into tears and offers him 500 Frequent-flyer program|frequent flier miles, enough to get him to Sacramento. Next question: If you could wake up with any one quality or ability, what would it be? Penny mocks that she would like to turn water into wine, to which Sheldon complains that she is not taking the experiment seriously. So then she replies that she wishes she could be as smart as everyone else in their social group. Sheldon scoffs at this, but then admits that while Penny is not academically inclined, she has intelligence that he envy|envies. Sheldon would like to be able to mind reading|read minds because he misinterprets how people are feeling. Are people joking with him or making fun of him? Are they mad at him or just in a bad Mood (psychology)|mood. Penny is surprised and remarks that he seems so confident and that she wishes she could make life easier for him. Penny then has a wave of affection for him that passes after Sheldon asks if it's just too much Bible juice. While the zombie cries out that he wants some brains, they solve the cipher code. Amy and Leonard use it to find a city on a globe to get the combination to the safe. The zombie wants them to slow down and not figure it out so fast. They don't get a Money back guarantee |refund for finishing early. At the airport, Howard is bothered that he didn't drive his mother to the airport on her way to Florida since that would have been the last time he would have ever seen her. He was too busy and he made her take a taxi. Bernadette is moved and informs the attendant, "You'd better find my husband's mother because either way, we're walking out of this airport with a dead woman," implying that if she doesn't find the ashes, Bernadette will homicide|kill her. The employee bursts into tears again. In the safe, they find a copy of Charles Darwin's "Origin of the Species" and in the book containing a black light. A riddle is hidden on the wall which Amy solves and Emily finds the key to open the door behind a picture. Emily had hoped the puzzles would have been harder, but the geniuses figured them out quickly and they spent $200 for six minutes of fun. All the gang members have Doctorate|advanced degrees. The zombie tells them to remember when they talk about their escape room on Yelp. Back at Penny's apartment and while they are having dinner, Penny asks if Sheldon were to die today and couldn't communicate with anyone, what would he most regret not having told someone? Sheldon says that there is something satisfying dying on one's birthday. Today was Sheldon's birthday? Not even Amy knows when he was Childbirth|born. Sheldon despises gift giving and dreads surprise parties more that the term "George Lucas' director's cut". Sheldon told Penny because the point of the experiment was to be completely honest with somebody which really touches Penny. Penny promises not to tell anyone, though she wouldn't have thought he was a Pisces (astrology)|Pisces. Sheldon quips that she is making it hard for him to love her. Finally, the airport finds Howard's bag. Howard apologizes to his mother that he didn't take her to the airport and that she'll remain close to him the rest of his life. Bernadette is worried that the urn will end up in their bedroom. For the final part of the experiment, Penny and Sheldon then stare into each other's eyes without Conversation|talking. They are supposed to keep eye contact for a full four minutes and both struggle with this. Both find the experience creepy though they both admit that they are comfortable around each other and that they look on each other like a brother and sister. Sheldon says sometimes he feels like Penny is a mother which Penny finds creepy. Letting their minds wander, Penny can't believe it's been eight years. Sheldon can't believe she is still eating their food and he can tell her how much she owes them. Penny can't even remember a time when the guys weren't in her life. Sheldon can. The alarm goes off. Sheldon says it is safe to say that they are not in love with each other, but they do feel closer to each other. Given their new intimacy, they have some tough choices to make. How are they going to get to Garycon? And who gets to be Gary? Penny walks Sheldon home or across the hall to his place. Sheldon thanks her for a very interesting evening. Inside, the guys jump out at him shouting "Surprise!" with a makeshift birthday party, causing Sheldon to scream. Sheldon turns mad at Penny because he let her be Gary; Penny simply shrugs. Credits * Guest starring: ** Laura Spencer as Emily Sweeney ** Stephanie Escajeda as Cindy ** Molly Morgan as Hostess ** Max Adler as Zombie * Teleplay: Steven Molaro, Jim Reynolds & Steve Holland * Story: Dave Goetsch, Eric Kaplan & Tara Hernandez Notes *'Title Reference:' Sheldon and Penny conduct an experiment designed to make people fall in love. *Taping date: January 27, 2015 *This episode was watched by 16.67 million people with a rating of 4.5 (adults 18-49). *Total viewers including DVR users 22.20 million. *The Big Bang Theory was ranked #1 for the week ending 1 March 2015. *This episode aired in Canada on February 26, 2015 with 4.10 million viewers with a weekly ranking of #1. *Screened in Great Britain on Thursday, April 24, 2015 on the E4 channel. *In Australia, it aired on March 24, 2015 with 0.98 million viewers. *Episode transcript https://bigbangtrans.wordpress.com/series-8-episode-16-the-intimacy-acceleration/ * Chuck Lorre's vanity card http://www.chucklorre.com/index.php?p=492 Critics * Jesse Schedeen at IGN - The premise behind "The Intimacy Acceleration" was a good one... {Penny and Sheldon}'s snarky but ultimately affectionate interplay is always good for some laughs... {and} celebrating the bond that has formed between these two unlikely friends over the years...{T}he two really do have a sibling-like love for each other. This episode was a stark reminder that Sheldon opens up to Penny in a way he doesn't with anyone else in his life; not even Amy. That's sad in a way, and possibly a bad omen for the ongoing health of the Sheldon/Amy romance...{Howard and Bernadette'} subplot managed to offer a solid blend of humor (with Bernie's icy threats to the beleaguered baggage clerk being particularly funny) and drama (as we saw Howard is clearly struggling with this sudden tragedy)...Howard's close, sometimes creepy relationship with his mother has been far too integral a part of his character over the years. * IMDb user reviews http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3862714/reviews?ref_=tt_urv Trivia *On top of the fridge in Leonard and Sheldon's apartment, there is a 'Save $5' voucher for 'The Help Shenny Category:Season 8 Category:Leonard-Penny Engaged Category:Amy Category:Penny Category:Bernadette Category:Howard Category:Howard-Bernadette Category:Sheldon Category:Raj Category:Leonard Category:Shamy Category:Penny has a job Category:Raj-Emily Together Category:Relationships Category:Games Category:The Big Bang Theory Category:Episodes Category:Raj Talks Without Alcohol Category:Penny's Short Hair Category:Birthdays Category:No Stuart appearance (Season 8) Category:Jim Parsons Category:Winter episodes